Better meizu m2 note. Meizu M2 Note: specifications, reviews. Is the screen good
Have not passed without a trace for Meizu. The company quickly expanded its line of smartphones, complementing it with both almost uncompromising (MX4 Pro) and affordable models with a good price-performance ratio (M1 / M1 Note). According to rumors, the Meizu M1 Note phablet in Ukraine has become the best-selling smartphone in its price segment. Over the 8 months that have passed since its announcement, it has not lost its relevance, but the company has prepared a replacement. At first glance, Meizu M2 Note looks similar to its predecessor, has very similar characteristics, and is more likely to pull on the "M1.1 Note" than a full update. Let's compare the two models and see if the new product can repeat the success of the original smartphone.
Equipment
The Meizu M2 Note comes in a nice cardboard box. It grew slightly in size, a blue stripe appeared, referring to the original Chinese name of the line (Blue Charm), but the filling remained. Inside you will find a charger, cable, paper clip, and documentation.
Design and usability
From the front, most modern smartphones look the same. The industry has ditched the physical buttons below the screen, and displays are taking over an increasing proportion of the front bezels. Therefore, manufacturers are trying to distinguish their smartphones from competitors with the design of the backs. But this is true only for models from different companies, there is usually no difference within the lines of one vendor (remember LG).
Therefore, from the back, the M1 and M2 Note look almost identical, and from the front side it is easy to find out who is where. The corporate circle, which is at the same time the only system control key and an indicator, was replaced by a physical mBack key.
We have already met her in, but now the fingerprint scanner has been removed from her. The notification diode has moved to its usual place - to the conversational dynamics.
This solution seems to me correct, it made the management easier. The button has a capacitive layer, a simple tap acts as "Back" and a press as "Home". The list of running applications is called up by swiping from the bottom edge of the screen. When the screen is off, you can turn on the display by pressing the key; during operation, holding mBack locks the smartphone. As usual, the screen can be turned on by double tapping or immediately unlocked with a swipe from the bottom up.
The power key has moved from above to the left end to the volume control button, which has turned into a traditional rocker. There is a noticeable step back here, at least in the test smartphone the keys had a very short stroke and barely protruded above the surface. Considering that they, like the entire body, are slippery, they are inconvenient to use.
The physical dimensions have changed by fractions of a millimeter, it is impossible to feel or see the difference. But the changed shape of the sidewalls is felt, the M2 Note fits more comfortably in the palm.
The last change is the reduced color gamut, only popular colors were left for Meizu M2 Note. They turned out to be glossy and slippery white, blue and pink, and they added a matte gray, similar to the older models (MX4, MX4 Pro).
Summing up a small summary, we can say that the M2 Note slightly improved ergonomics due to the mBack key, minimal changes in the shape of the case and the addition of a practical gray case color.
Display
Meizu M2 Note, in fact, received the screen of its predecessor. A 5.5-inch IPS IGZO matrix from Sharp is used with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (403 ppi). The only change is the simplification of the protective glass, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 was replaced with a simpler AGC Dragontrail or NEG T2X-1. From personal feelings, this led to a slight deterioration in the quality of the oleophobic coating, the M2 screen collects prints more strongly.
The objective characteristics remained at a comparable level - the brightness varies from 1 to 452 cd / m2, the measured contrast ratio is 1: 675 (M1 Note: from 2 to 480 cd / m2, 1: 718). Since different smartphones may have screens from different suppliers or from different batches, a small variation in measurements is not critical. Calibration accuracy is comparable to its predecessors - traditionally wide color gamut, flat gamma curve, close to the reference color temperature.
The display has natural color rendition, good viewing angles, and a wide range of brightness allows you to comfortably use your smartphone in bright sun or in the dark.
Hardware platform
The smartphone is based on the MediaTek MT6753 chipset. It includes 8 Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at 1.3 GHz and GPU Mali T720 MP3 (450 MHz). The M1 Note had a better "filling" - MediaTek MT6752 (8 x Cortex-A53 1.7 GHz + GPU Mali T760 MP2 700 MHz).
The volumes of RAM and permanent memory remain the same: 2 GB of RAM and 16 or 32 GB of internal memory. M2 Note received a slot for a memory card, it is installed instead of one of the Nano-SIM.
Despite the less productive filling, the overall speed of work remained at an excellent level. Apps launch and run smoothly, animations are smooth, and the M2 Note feels like flying, just like the previous model. But the simplified chipset took its toll on demanding games like N.O.V.A. 3, the frame rate drops noticeably. In toys with simple graphics, of course, there are no problems.
It's hard to understand why Meizu took such a step, maybe the M1 Note turned out to be too good and reduced sales of older models, or the new chipset supports LTE better, I don't know. Meanwhile, it became more convenient to work with two SIM-cards. Now both the first and the second SIM cards can work in 3G / LTE networks, in M1 Note the card with the Internet had to be inserted into the first slot.
The multimedia functionality of the smartphone has not changed. M2 Note plays music well, it has a good earpiece and a noticeable vibration alert. Only the ringing speaker upsets. It has an average volume and the same average quality, it is easily blocked and muffled by hands when holding the smartphone horizontally (games, watching videos).
Operating system and shell
Meizu M2 Note runs proprietary Flyme OS 4.5.2I (test firmware) based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. We talked about the shell itself earlier, for example, in the review. With the transition to a fresh version of Android, the system did not receive visible changes, the beautiful Lollipop with its Material Design is nowhere to be seen.
Of the functional changes, it is worth noting the emergence of a system energy manager. In addition to the previously present "power mode" of the processor, now the behavior of the smartphone can be adjusted more subtly, for example, disable wireless modules, dim the brightness at night.
With the expansion of the model, the company does not have time to fully optimize the firmware. In Meizu M1 Note, which can annoy experienced users who can replace them. A sad fate did not pass M2 Note. While the smartphone is very noticeably "floating" automatic brightness control, the first time after unlocking the screen, the button under the display reacts to pressing the second time, in some applications the bottom of the screen is occupied by a large bar with the "Menu" button. In addition, the smartphone does not know how to work with exFAT memory cards, into which many microSDs with a volume of 64 GB or more are formatted, although the company itself claims support for cards up to 128 GB.
Working hours
The built-in battery has a capacity of 3100 mAh. The novelty works the same as the M1 Note. With two SIM cards, one of which works in 3G, relatively active use of various social networks, instant messengers, the smartphone works confidently for a day, the screen activity time is about 4 hours. If you do not use 3G and reduce the rest of the activity, you will be able to squeeze more out of the battery.
Cameras
As with most items, the M2 Note received the first model cameras. The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels, a lens with an f / 2.2 aperture consists of 5 lenses, there is a blue infrared filter, the module is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The front camera is 5 megapixels with an f / 2.0 lens of 4 lenses, wide-angle (69 degrees).
In the camera application, it became possible to separately specify the focusing and exposure metering points, this makes it easier to get a good shot. All other changes are reduced to minor changes in the algorithms for image processing. In terms of photo capabilities, the M2 Note remains a good smartphone.
Outcome
The Meizu M2 Note is a simple facelift of the M1 Note. The company slightly improved the shape of the case and control, added the ability to use memory cards, but installed a less productive platform. Both smartphones are perceived to be identical, with a direct comparison, you can see the difference only in benchmark results and demanding games, but this feature can hardly be considered fundamentally important. M2 Note will probably repeat the success of the previous model, because even taking into account the preserved price, it looks attractive in terms of price / quality ratio.
Liked:
Good screen
Fast work
Decent autonomy
Gray color of the case with matte plastic, the ability to install a memory card, mechanical button mBack
Did not like:
- Average quality of the ringing speaker
- Decreased performance compared to Meizu M1 Note, worse oleophobic coating, inconvenient volume / power keys
On June 2, 2015, the presentation of the new youth phablet M2 Note made by Meizu took place in China. The novelty replaced the Meizu M1 Note, during the production of which more than 5 million copies were sold. The older model was very popular all over the world. However, according to the assurances of the Meizu company itself, they plan to exceed the sales level of their older brother. The main trump card of these models of phablets is the price. The price of Meizu M1 Note at the start of sales was 999 yuan (about 10,000 rubles), and the Meizu M2 Note was put up for sale for 799 yuan (about 8,000 rubles). I doubt you can find competitors who can offer high quality and outstanding performance for such a low price.
Let's figure out what is so good about the Meizu M2 Note smartphone.
Specifications
- Operating system:Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Flyme OS 4.5
- Display: 5.5 ”, 1080 × 1920, 403 PPI, IGZO (Sharp), AGC Dragontrail / NEG T2X-1 glass
- A type matrices: IPS Retina
- Standard connections: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, FDD LTE 4G 1920-1980 / 1710-1785 / 2500-2570 MHz, TD LTE 4G 1880-1920 / 2300-2400 / 2570-2620 / 2555-2655 MHz
- CPU:Mediatek MT6753
- Processor frequency, GHz:8 × 1.3, eight-core
- Graphics system:Mali T720 MP2, 450 MHz
- RAM:2 GB
- Storage device:16 GB
- Memory slot:microSD, support for memory cards up to 128 GB
- Number of Sim Cards:2
- SIM card type: nano SIM
- Connectors:MicroUSB v2.0, OTG host, 3.5mm standard audio output
- Sensors:Accelerometer, proximity sensor, electronic compass, gyroscope
- Camera:13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, autofocus, dual LED flash
- Wireless connections: Wi-Fi 802.11 (a / b / g / n) Dual-Band, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1
- GPS:Yes (GPS +, GLONASS)
- Battery type:Lithium polymer
- Battery:3100 mAh (fast charging at 9V / 1.2A or 5V / 2A), non-removable
- Dimensions (width, height, depth):150.9 x 75.2 x 8.7 mm
- The weight: 149 gram
- Average market price:RUB 13,200 (before the dollar goes up over RUB 62)
What we see. The processor is weaker than its older brother. Added support for memory cards and 4G communication standard. In appearance and size, practically nothing has changed. The design is still the same iPhone 5C. 0.2 mm thinner and the same 0.2 longer. A distinctive feature was the mechanical Home button. Thanks to all these innovations, the price of this device has decreased by 2,000 rubles. Let's dig deeper.
Contents of delivery
The package is simple: a smartphone, a 2A charger, a USB cable and a paper clip to remove the SIM card tray. The headset is not included. All this is packed in a beautiful white box only 25 mm high. Everything is very simple, but tasteful. 
Since the equipment is quite austere, you must purchase additional accessories yourself. As an option, I can advise the online store Bilka.com.ua with a large selection of covers for Meizu smartphones.
Appearance and features
The design of the Meizu M2 Note has hardly changed. The difference from the previous model is the presence of a mechanical button on the front side. The button is pressed smoothly, until it clicks. One click - exit to the desktop. The button also has a touch surface. Touch - returns one position back. Buttons work clearly. At first I had to get used to this combination. There are no other buttons on the front side. The earpiece is covered with a mesh. AGC Dragontrail or NEG T2X-1 glass, there is an oleophobic coating, but the display gets dirty anyway. Fingerprints are easily erased.
Meizu M2 Note - front side
The body is made of plastic. The build quality is excellent. Side frames 4 mm each, 15 mm top and bottom. The corners of the smartphone are rounded. The phone feels massive. Long holding in the hand is uncomfortable. Unaccustomed to the hands of the shovel.
On the left side there are volume control and on / off buttons. The location of these buttons was not very pleasant. It is extremely inconvenient to press.
Meizu M2 Note - Desktop
On the right side there is a tray for SIM cards. You can install two nanoSIM cards in your smartphone or a nanoSIM card and a microSD card. The smartphone supports memory cards up to 128 GB. It is very strange that the manufacturer did not install a separate slot for memory cards. I think there should be plenty of space inside. And the use of nanoSIM cards is inconvenient. 
At the top there is a headset jack and a second microphone for noise canceling. At the bottom - microUSB connector, main microphone and speaker.
On the back is the main camera with dual flash (cold and warm light) and logo. The camera does not protrude above the body. There are no handprints on the back cover.
The smartphone is of high quality, but does not produce the "WOW" effect. Perhaps with a different bright color, the impression will be different.
Display
The display of the Meizu M2 Note smartphone is built on an IPS matrix with very good viewing angles. When deviated vertically / horizontally, the contrast drops slightly. So on this smartphone, you can easily watch a movie together, if someone suddenly needs it. The display resolution is 1920 × 1080 (Full HD) and the pixel density is 403 ppi. The LCD panel is manufactured by Sharp, and the TFT display substrate uses IGZO semiconductor material, which is beneficial for energy efficiency. The matrix is \u200b\u200battached to the protective glass using OGS technology (One Glass Solution) without an air gap. The display has an anti-glare filter and an oleophobic coating. The brightness of the screen is regulated within wide limits, the margin of brightness is sufficient. In direct sunlight, the information on the display is clearly visible. Auto brightness adjustment works without errors.
Control
One mechanical button with a touch pad is provided for control. With a short touch, moves back one position. Pressing the button opens the desktop. The rest of the control is carried out using gestures on the screen.
Device operation
The smartphone runs on Google Android 5.1 operating system with Flyme OS 4.5.1 proprietary shell. The Flyme shell style is minimalistic. There is no separate window with applications, all applications are located on desktops. New desktop windows appear automatically. Up to four icons can be placed on the dock. By default, the proprietary Flyme shell icons are used, but this can be disabled in the settings.
All newly added programs appear on the desktop and then they can be placed in folders. To create a folder, you need to move one icon to another. You can also display widgets on the desktop, the size of the widget is additionally configurable.
Notification area and quick switches. You can change the location of the radio buttons, but you cannot add or remove them. For quick access, you need to swipe the screen from top to bottom anywhere.
To call up a list of recently launched applications, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
The blocking window is uninformative. The only widget displayed on it is a music player. Missed calls and messages are only available on the notification panel. By sliding the lock window to the left, you can select the program that will run when you slide the lock window to the right. The default is Camera.
Keyboard
I didn't like the native keyboard. There is no support for Swype mode. The keys are always in capital letters. However, this issue can be easily solved by installing another keyboard.
Phone
The Phone app is simple but functional. There is a blacklist of users, can block calls from unknown and international calls. There is a recording of conversations from the line. The quality is excellent. I didn't like the fact that this smartphone uses nanoSIM cards. For the test, I had to make a nanoSIM card myself. The quality of the phone speaker and microphone is good. There were no wheezing. The interlocutors did not complain, and I heard them well.
Note that the phone module now supports 4G (LTE) - this was not the case in the previous model. And both SIM-cards.
Posts
There is a blocking of spammers, the ability to attach various types of media data to a message. There are cloud messages for Flyme users.
Multimedia
The speaker has a very high volume. Clear sound, no overload. The built-in player interface is simple: the album cover and controls are displayed. There is filtering by tracks, artists, albums and folders.
The sound in the headphones is excellent. The lack of high or low frequencies is eliminated with an equalizer. With the Dirac HD Sound app, the sound is noticeably improved, only you need to choose the appropriate settings for your headphones.
There is still no FM tuner.
The built-in video player application supports most codecs. Videos are played in all formats. FullHD clips with a hardware decoder play well, with a software decoder they slow down a little.
Games
In hard games, everything is not so good. Even in the productive mode of operation, there were slowdowns and lags. I had to significantly underestimate the settings.
Navigation
There were no problems with navigation. The GPS / GLONASS modules work very well, the satellites are caught quickly, the smartphone keeps the coordinates stable.
Settings
Flyme-style customization - simple but functional.
Three preset power consumption modes.
From the accessibility features, I really liked the Fast Wake function. You can customize gestures when the screen is off: turning on the screen backlight with two taps, quickly unlocking the smartphone with a swipe from bottom to top, swiping tracks to the side, and much more.
Other interesting functions can be noted: the control "ring" SmartTouch with adjustable transparency, switching on and off on schedule, setting the color temperature of the screen and much more.
Camera
The camera interface is simple and user-friendly. The resolution of the main camera matrix is \u200b\u200b13 megapixels. The lens consists of 5 lenses, aperture F2.2. The flash here is a double LED with a cold and warm glow for correct reproduction of skin tones.
There are different kinds of shooting modes: auto, manual, portrait, panorama, focus change, QR code scanner and slow motion.
Portrait mode supports MediaTek's proprietary technology called Face Beautifier - retouching portraits at the time of shooting. With this function, you can remove minor skin imperfections, even out the tone of the face, make a "lift" and so on.
Scanner mode. The camera scans and recognizes barcodes and QR codes. A trifle, but nice. No need to install a separate application.
The front camera also shoots great. The resolution of the matrix of the front camera is 5 megapixels, the lens consists of 4 lenses, the aperture is F2.0. Viewing angle 69 degrees.
The maximum video quality is 1920 x 1080 pixels at 30 or 15 fps. Medium quality. There are HDR, slow motion and fast motion modes.
The camera test left a good impression. Focuses quickly, rarely misses. White balance is good, the quality of the photos is above average. Here are sample photos. To display the photo in its original size - click on the photo. I didn't have time to take more photos, the smartphone was taken away.
Performance
The Meizu M2 Note platform is built on a new 64-bit 8-core chipset from the Taiwanese company MediaTek - MT6753. ARM Cortex-A53 processor, clock speed of each core - 1.3 GHz. ARM Mali-T720 (8 cores) is used as graphics. If we compare the performance of this smartphone with the previous model, then it has dropped significantly. The AnTuTu test gave the following results (balanced mode on the left, productive mode on the right):
Judging by the numbers, the difference is insignificant. However, in productive mode, the smartphone is faster. The interface becomes more responsive and smoother. The discharge of the battery also increases. For day-to-day use, Balanced Mode is sufficient for most tasks. The productive mode is useful for resource-intensive games or programs. If you need a long battery life, then the energy-saving mode will come in handy. The operating speed is significantly reduced, but one battery charge can be stretched for 4 days.
Battery
The Meizu M2 Note uses a 3100mAh non-removable battery. With active use of the smartphone, only 15-20% of the charge remains in the evening. When working with a smartphone, the battery lasts about: about 20-30 minutes of talks a day, about 3-6 hours of using 4G, about 20 hours of Wi-Fi, several dozen photos and 2 hours of listening to music. For a night with Wi-Fi turned on, 5-7% of the charge goes. If the smartphone is not loaded, then you can achieve battery life for three to four days. But you have to sacrifice performance and constant synchronization.
According to the test results, the following figures were obtained (measurements were made in a balanced mode of operation):
- hD video viewing is about 6 hours;
- internet a little over 6.5 hours;
- reading with disconnection of all wireless interfaces for about 10 hours;
- heavy games only last 3.5 hours.
Observations at work and conclusions
During the entire testing period, no glitches were found, there were no spontaneous freezes and reboots. Under a serious load, the smartphone warmed up a little in the camera area, but completely uncritical. The new Meizu M2 Note smartphone significantly differs from its predecessor Meizu M1 Note: support for fourth-generation communication networks, the ability to expand the internal memory, as well as a convenient mechanical button. Having retained a bright color scheme, a large high-quality screen and very successful cameras, the novelty is clearly inferior to the previous model in terms of speed and efficiency of the oleophobic display coating. In addition, you have to pay for the expansion of the memory with a second SIM card. However, the cost of the new item is lower than that of the previous model, which will have a positive effect on sales.
The advantages include the following:
- support of fourth generation communication networks;
- a very good screen, with a good margin of brightness;
- loud and clear speaker;
- support for memory cards;
- good camera;
- low cost;
- simple but comfortable shell;
- functional mechanical button;
- no unnecessary applications.
The disadvantages include:
- lack of NFC;
- ineffective olephobic coating;
- support for nanoSIM cards only.
During the test period, the manufacturer released a new firmware 4.5.2A in which the Russian language was absent. This is how Meizu is trying to combat the leak of smartphones intended for the Chinese market. After numerous complaints from users and large Chinese retailers, information appeared that the Russian language would return to new firmware versions. Will wait. Since the telephone is a huge success in the middle circles of the population. The above applies only to models for the Chinese market. For international versions, everything is in order, the Russian language was, is and will be.
The Chinese company knows how to make great smartphones. After the successful flagships Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro, the manufacturer decided to master the budget sector by releasing the Meizu M1 Note. It was warmly received by users, as evidenced by the sales figures.
Our lab got Meizu M2 Note, the next device in the M Note line. Will he be able to repeat the success of the eminent predecessor? Let's find out.
The review of Meizu M2 Note will traditionally start with a study of the performance characteristics.
Specifications Meizu M2 Note
| Model | Meizu M2 Note 16 Gb |
| Screen | 5.5 ", IPS (IGZO), dot density 400 ppi |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| operating system | Android 5.1 |
| SoC | MediaTek MT6753, 8 x 1.3 GHz, Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali T720 MP3 |
| RAM, MB | 2048 |
| Flash memory, GB | 16 |
| Support for memory cards, GB | MicroSD, up to 128 |
| Cameras, Mpix | Main 13.0 (flash, autofocus), front 5.0 |
| Battery, mAh | 3 100 |
| Dimensions (WxHxT), mm | 75.2 x 150.9 x 8.7 |
| Weight, g | 149 |
| SIM slots, pcs / type | 2, NanoSIM |
| price, rub. | ~10 000*/ 11-12 000**/ ~15 000*** |
** When purchasing the "gray" version from domestic dealers.
*** Price officially recommended by the manufacturer.
The first thing that catches your eye in comparison with the Meizu M1 Note is the SoC downgrade. Instead of MediaTek MT6752, the less powerful MediaTek MT6753 is now "working". But there is a slot for memory cards, and the price has also decreased.
Well, now let's go directly to the hero of the review himself. Let's start by looking at the packaging.
Packaging and equipment Meizu M2 Note
Meizu M2 Note comes in a small white cardboard box. The packaging is very stylish - it is pleasant even to hold it in your hands.
The name of the device is printed on the front of the box, and on the back there is a sticker listing the main features of the model.
Looking under the cover, the first thing we see is the smartphone itself and the tool for removing the SIM card tray.
In addition, the package includes:
- Charger (input: 100-240 V, ~ 50-60 Hz, 0.3 A, output: 5 V \u003d 2 A);
- MicroUSB cable.
There is no stereo headset, which is carefully indicated by the inscription on the cap in the corresponding cell.
Let's put it this way: the scope of delivery does not impress with wealth. Only the bare minimum.
Now let's move on to the smartphone itself.
Appearance and design of Meizu M2 Note
Meizu M2 Note is made in a classic form factor - a candy bar with a touch screen.
The dimensions of the smartphone are 75.2 x 150.9 x 8.7 mm, its weight is 149 g. The device is light and thin for its diagonal, although the surface of the front panel could be used more efficiently, since the frames around the display are wide enough.
The smartphone received a strict rectangular shape, the corners are slightly rounded to improve the ergonomics of the device. Thanks to this, the device is quite convenient to operate, despite its large size.
The Meizu M2 Note is the younger brother of the former legendary and discontinued Meizu M1 Note. Reviewers often like to say "bug fixing". But in this case, this is not so - after all, the first version was a wonderful product. Should you opt for a budget smartphone from the already well-established Meizu? Answer this question yourself by reading or watching our review.
Specifications
- CPU: MediaTek MT6753, 1.3 GHz, 8 cores, ARM Cortex-A53
- GPU: Mali-T720 @ 450 MHz 3 cores
- Operating system: Android 5.1, Flyme OS 4.5
- Display: IPS IGZO (Sharp) 5.5 ″, 1920 × 1080, 401 ppi
- RAM: 2 GB, internal memory 16/32 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.), MicroSD support up to 128 GB
- Communication: GSM 900/1800 MHz; 3G HSDPA 900/2100 MHz; LTE Cat.4 (150/50 Mbit / s) 1800/2100/2600 MHz; Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n (2.4 / 5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth 4.0 BLE; GPS, A-GPS, Glonass; USB 2.0 OTG
- Camera: 13 MP, f / 2.2, autofocus, 1080p video
- Front camera: 5 MP, OmniVision OV5670, f / 2.0, fixed. focus
- Gyroscope, proximity sensor, lighting, gravity, electronic compass
- Battery: 3100 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions: 151 x 75 x 8.7mm
- Weight: 149 g
Video review
As usual, our foreman San Sanych prepared a video review of the device for our laziest readers.Equipment
The device arrived to us in a nice little box made of thick white cardboard with only a few logos on the sides.Inside, in addition to the smartphone itself, there was a power supply, a microUSB cable, a branded paper clip and accompanying documentation. Not a lot, especially since recently companies are equipping even the most budget devices with a wider range of supplies. The "plug" for the headphones looks especially strange.
Appearance
Let's move on to the appearance of the smartphone. It's as minimalistic as the box that the M2 Note was packed in: a sleek polycarbonate body with rounded edges. Depending on the selected color of the case, it will be either matte or glossy. The rounded edges give their advantage - despite the 5.5-inch display and impressive dimensions, the Meizu M2 Note looks and feels like a small and neat stone. At least it is comfortable to hold in your hand.
The back panel is not removable, it flows smoothly to the front side, framing the screen.
On the right at the end are slots for two nanoSIM cards. By the way, one of the connectors can be used to expand the memory using an SD card. Right there on the right side there is a power button, which, as it seemed to me, has a slightly tight move. In addition, its location cannot be called convenient: it is slightly lower than the standard one, it will take some getting used to.
On the back side of the body, the main camera lens is located on top, which does not protrude beyond the panel and is covered with Dragontrail protective glass. There is also a multi-colored LED flash nearby.
The speaker was taken out to the bottom end, placing it next to the microUSB connector and the spoken microphone.
Above the end there is a 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones. Meizu M2 Note is available in white, blue and pink - all three are glossy, but gray is matte, and to be honest, it not only looks better and more presentable, but the matte finish is not so easily soiled, so leave marks on it and scratches are much more difficult than gloss.
Display
The smartphone received a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 and a pixel density of 401. It uses an IPS-matrix, which is known for good color reproduction and wide viewing angles. The display is protected by AGC Dragontrail / NEG T2X-1 glass.The brightness of the display is built both automatically and manually, and the auto-adjustment is adequate and does not cause any complaints.
Multitouch technology supports up to ten simultaneous touches. There is an oleophobic coating.
There is an anti-reflective coating, not ideal, but with the maximum brightness set, you can easily read any information from the screen when bright sunlight hits it. A little more about brightness: in the dark, its level is also comfortable for reading.
As for the contrast of the display, it is quite high, but at the same time the colors do not have oversaturated shades, rather the opposite - they are as natural as possible, but not faded either.
Overall, we can say that for a budget smartphone, the Meizu M2 Note has a good display with excellent specs. I was pleasantly surprised.
Sound
Despite the fact that the smartphone lacks any software chips, “surround sound” and the like, the sound quality of the speakers is very good. And it stays that way in the headphones. No wheezing or noise even at the maximum volume.The speaker is also good, the interlocutor hears you perfectly, however, as you do, even if you are on the street or in a noisy room.
The only sound enhancement feature is Dirac HD Sound.
There is no FM radio, but there is the possibility of recording phone calls: to do this, you need to touch the corresponding key on the screen during a call.
Camera
Meizu M2 Note received a 13 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. The latter is equipped with an OV5670 OmniVision sensor with a wide-angle lens and a 4-element lens. It lacks autofocus and flash, but nevertheless the pictures are obtained in good quality, suitable even for posting selfies on Instagram.With video chat, the camera will also cope with a bang.
The camera interface is simple and intuitive, there are automatic, manual, panoramic and portrait modes, as well as the ability to set focus and an option for barcode recognition.
The pictures are good, with rich colors and no noise. Even when shooting in the dark, noises are not critical and are mostly suppressed by howls.
An excellent result for a budget segment device.
In connection with the terrible fail and reset the phone before transferring photos, we attach photos of the user of the Yandex.Photo service: ra2fgk
Communication
Meizu M2 Note supports 2G, 3G and LTE networks. Supports Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, it is possible to create a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 4.0 channels.During the test, I had no problems with Wi-Fi, but SanSanych reported some lags and glitches. Subsequently, such lags were found on other devices and were obviously caused by our side.
Micro-USB 2.0 supports connecting external devices (USB Host, USB OTG).
Support for GPS and Glonass, satellites are found quickly (about 10-15 seconds with a cold start).
Working with two SIM-cards is standard, the user himself chooses which card will be the main one. Both cards can work with 3G / 4G networks, but not simultaneously.
OS and software
The smartphone runs Android 5.1 with Flyme OS proprietary shell.
The interface is very simple and intuitive, there can be no problems even for users who have not previously worked with Android. The interface is very beautiful, minimalistic and simple. I have only pleasant impressions of Flyme OS. Multitasking is similar to the old version of iOS.
There is a virtual SmartTouch key, which is designed to simplify the work with the display: you can use it to move the interface menu down.
Since there is only one touch key - the central one, it performs most of the tasks. See how it works in our video review.
Pleases the minimum number of pre-installed applications, and those that are most often used.
Performance
The Meizu M2 Note is powered by an 8-core MediaTek MT6753 processor clocked at up to 1300 MHz.Responsible for the graphics is a triple-core Mali-T720 with a core frequency of up to 450 MHz.
The amount of RAM - 2 GB, built-in - 16 GB, it is possible to expand the memory.
The interface is fluid and responsive to tasks. Heavy 3D games run well, but the game process itself is difficult, not as fast as we would like. In addition, the back panel of the smartphone heats up significantly when starting games.
Battery
The device received a battery with a capacity of 3100 mAh, which, in fact, is not enough for a smartphone with a good 5.5-inch screen and a powerful processor that pulled the launch of heavy games. But in our test, the device showed a good result - more than 10 hours of continuous use with Wi-Fi on, display at 50% brightness and running Chrome.
We can safely say that the device received good autonomy and will be enough for a day of work.
Let's sum up
Meizu M2 Note came out as a great smartphone. Despite the fact that it sometimes loses to other smartphones, nevertheless, it remains a good device that can attract many potential buyers. Good design, excellent technical characteristics, good battery life and of course the proprietary Flyme OS shell - in my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.For the device provided, the editors would like to thank the official MEIZU store in Russia:
The Meizu M2 Note smartphone, having changed some design details compared to its largely similar predecessor, is still aimed at a younger audience. In addition to the expandable memory, it is also worth noting the support for 4G in both SIM slots. What else distinguishes the new device, Vesti.Hi-tech figured out.
Literally six months after the launch of the smartphone, which was announced in December last year, Meizu presented its update - M2 Note. The new device retains a bright exterior and an unusually low price for the existing filling, which makes it attractive, first of all, for the younger generation. Apparently, the slogan chosen for the promotion of this device is not accidental either - Quality for Young. According to Meizu, which is now backed by such a serious investor as the Internet giant Alibaba, sales in six months amounted to several million devices. Judging by the number of pre-orders for the M2 Note, the novelty can also count on success.
Specifications
- Model: M2 Note (M571H)
- OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Flyme OS 4.5.1I shell
- Processor: 64-bit MediaTek MT6753, ARMv8 architecture, 8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 1.3 GHz
- Graphics coprocessor: ARM Mali-T720 MP3 (450 MHz)
- RAM: 2 GB LPDDR3 (800 MHz, one channel)
- Storage memory: 16 GB, support for microSD / HC / XC memory cards (up to 128 GB)
- Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), microUSB (USB 2.0) for charge / synchronization, USB-OTG, 3.5 mm for headphones
- Screen: capacitive touchscreen, Sharp / AU Optronics, Sharp IGZO matrix, GFF (full lamination), 5.5-inch diagonal, resolution 1920 × 1080 pixels, pixel density per inch 401 ppi, brightness 450 cd / sq. m, contrast ratio 1000: 1, protective glass AGC Dragontrail / NEG T2X-1
- Cameras: main - 13 MP, Samsung S5K3L2, sensor type 1 / 3.06 inches, protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 5-element lens, aperture f / 2.2, autofocus, dual two-color flash, video [email protected], 4x digital zoom, protective glass, IR cut filter; frontal - 5 MP, OmniVision OV5670, 4-element lens, f / 2.0 aperture, shooting angle 69 degrees
- Network: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (900/1800 MHz), WCDMA / HSPA + (900/2100 MHz), LTE Cat. 4 (1800/2100/2600 MHz)
- SIM card: nanoSIM (4FF format)
- Number of SIM-cards: 2
- Navigation: GPS / GLONASS, A-GPS
- Sensors: gyroscope, compass, Hall sensor, accelerometer, light and proximity sensors (infrared)
- Battery: non-removable, lithium-ion, 3 100 mAh
- Colors: white, blue, gray, pink
- Dimensions: 150.9x75.2.0x8.7 mm
- Weight: 149 grams
Design, ergonomics
The main difference from its predecessor in the design of the M2 Note was the mechanical button called mBack and received an additional touch layer.
There is something similar in the "music" flagship, but in the M2 Note the silver-edged key lacks a fingerprint scanner function, and it has become more rounded in shape.
A regular touch (tap) to this button activates the transition one screen back (like a triangle key in stock Android), a short press with a hardware "click" returns to the main screen ("Home"), and a long press (hold) turns off the screen backlight ...
The main camera of the M2 Note received a 13-megapixel BSI sensor (Samsung S5K3L2, type 1 / 3.06 inches), as well as a dual two-color LED flash with different color temperatures. The camera lens with 5-lens optics and f / 2.2 aperture is covered with Corilla Glass 3, and for the matrix a near-frequency IR cut filter is used. Supports 4x digital zoom and panoramic shooting (300 degrees). The maximum image resolution is 4192x3104 pixels (13 MP) with an aspect ratio of 4: 3. Examples of photos can be viewed.
The front camera has a 5-megapixel sensor (OmniVision OV5670 Pure Cel, 1/5-inch type) equipped with a wide-angle (69 degrees) 4-element lens with an f / 2.0 aperture and an IR cut filter. Autofocus and flash are missing here. The maximum image size in the classic aspect ratio (4: 3) is 2576x1936 pixels (5 MP). Both cameras can record video in Full HD quality (1920x1080 pixels) with a frame rate of 30 fps, while the content is saved in MP4 container files (AVC - video, AAC - sound).
The interface of the "Camera" application does not differ from a similar program in, at the same time, several shooting modes, including fully automatic and manual, are supplemented with a barcode scanner. Possibilities for adjusting the parameters of photo and video shooting are also preserved, including filters and options for editing selfies. By the way, Meizu claims that the cameras have received a more modern image processing processor, obviously having in mind the one integrated on the new MT6753 base platform. So the improvement in image quality may well be due to processing algorithms.
The location of the grill of the "multimedia" speaker remains the same - at the bottom end of the case. And it seems that the musical abilities of the M2 Note also did not surpass its predecessor. The external speaker, although quite loud, does not differ in some super quality. However, the standard means of the smartphone allow you to listen to audio files, for example, with FLAC extensions, created by codecs for compressing audio data without losing quality. After connecting an audio headset, it is suggested to use a 5-band equalizer with presets and manual adjustment, as well as Dirac HD Sound sound enhancement technology with profiles for different types of headphones. There is no built-in FM tuner in the device, as well as an audio headset in its bundle.
Filling, performance
For the new smartphone, they decided to do with the more modest 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 platform with eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores, which is a logical continuation of the foundation - the MediaTek MT6752 crystal. So, MediaTek MT6753 uses the ARM Mali-T720 MP3 architecture (450 MHz) as a graphics accelerator, with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.2.
The new chip with a lower clock frequency (1.3 GHz versus 1.7 GHz) can work in LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD Cat. 4 (150 Mbps), HSPA +, TD-SCDMA, EDGE, and also equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 LE and 2-band Wi-Fi interfaces. Judging by the musical abilities of the smartphone, it seems that the design of the MT6753 chip (as well as the MT6752) provides an audio hub with the Wolfson WM8281 architecture. In turn, the work with the camera is assigned to the built-in signal processor of the ISP image processing. The basic configuration is complemented by 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM (800 MHz), which is controlled by a single-channel controller. The weaker filling determines the corresponding test results.
So, from the synthetic AnTuTu Benchmark tests, it follows that the M2 Note smartphone, although ahead of the ex-flagship (2013), but having earned 30,269 "virtual parrots", fell behind its predecessor (39,436).
Vellamo benchmarks only confirm the presence of a less nimble filling: multicore multi-core tests - 1,499 versus 1,703, Metal processor tests - 927 versus 1,129
On the Epic Citadel visual test with variable High Performance, High Quality and Ultra High Quality settings, the average frame rate at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels was 54.9 fps, 53.9 fps and 26.0 fps, respectively.
On the universal gaming benchmark 3DMark, where the smartphone was tested on the Sling Shot and Ice Storm Unlimited sets, the results were 182 and 6,124, respectively. So there shouldn't be any problems with the vast majority of popular games.
The total score earned by M2 Note on the Base Mark OS II cross-platform benchmark was 740.
Of the 16 GB (there is a model with 32 GB) of the declared internal memory, about 10 GB is available in the tested model. At the same time, to expand the available storage space is provided in the tray for a microSD / HC / XC memory card with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. This M2 Note compares favorably with its predecessor, which does not have such an opportunity. True, the double tray, where the memory card is inserted, is universal, and, having taken one place in it, you will have to sacrifice the installation of a second SIM-card (nanoSIM format). By the way, you can also expand the built-in memory thanks to the support of the USB-OTG technology, by connecting an external drive.
The set of wireless communications for the new smartphone also includes a 2-band Wi-Fi module 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 (LE). In addition, when two nanoSIM cards (4FF format) are installed, one radio channel of the device operates with them in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode, in other words, both SIM cards are active, but when one is busy, the other is also unavailable. However, both slots support 4G, so there is no need to change subscriber identification modules in places. Recall that it costs two microSIM cards, while support for 3G / 4G is only in one specific tray.
To determine the location and navigation, the smartphone has a GPS / GLONASS receiver and support for the A-GPS mode. This is confirmed by the readings of the AndroiTS GPS Test program.
The capacity of the lithium-ion battery with which the M2 Note was equipped (3,100 mAh) turned out to be slightly less than that of its predecessor (3,140 mAh).
On the battery tests AnTuTu Tester, the new smartphone earned 6,289 points. Let's remind that here he scored 6,239 points. The test set of videos in MP4 format (hardware decoding) and Full HD quality at full brightness ran continuously for about 6.5 hours. In the "Battery" section of the settings, depending on the expected load, you can forcibly switch the smartphone from the "Balanced" mode to "Energy saving" or "Performance".
Software
In the absence of a separate application menu, all widgets and shortcuts to programs are placed directly on the desktops. Swipe down to open the quick settings panel, swipe up to open recent apps. By the way, the set of pre-installed software for the new smartphone is traditionally minimal.
Of course, we have carefully preserved all smartphone control gestures, including the SmartTouch control "ring" with adjustable transparency, which were collected in the "Accessibility" section.
It is quite easy to get superuser rights on the M2 Note (the so-called root access). To do this, just create an account with Flyme, and then in "Personal settings" tap on the line "Open access to the system".
Purchase, conclusions
The new smartphone Meizu M2 Note compares favorably with its predecessor with LTE support in both slots for subscriber identification modules, the ability to expand the built-in memory (thanks to the installation of microSD cards), as well as a convenient mechanical button. Having retained a bright color scheme, a large high-quality screen and very successful cameras, the novelty is clearly inferior to the previous model in terms of speed and efficiency of the oleophobic display coating. In addition, you have to pay for the expansion of the memory with a second SIM card.
The recommended price for Meizu M2 Note is 13,990 rubles. Slightly more expensive (on average 14 350 rubles) asked at the time of testing for. But the closest of the eminent rivals - (2/16 GB) in the corresponding configuration was already offered for 17,640 rubles. So, the undoubted advantage of the novelty is also a very attractive price tag.
The results of the review of the smartphone Meizu M2 Note
Pros:
- Attractive price
- Great screen
- LTE support (including frequencies of Russian operators) with both SIM slots
- Expandable memory
- Convenient mechanical button
Minuses:
- Low performance
- Ineffective olephobic layer
- Alternative installation of a second SIM-card or memory card
- Lack of FM tuner
